Improvement in shingle-machines



" `To all whom #may concern.- j

thereby greatly reduced.

UNITEDSTMES PATENT C )irr'ron.

JAMES rn. `Ausrru,lon oswEGo, Assrepnon To HrMsELF AND Jnojo. o.

REDINGTON, "oF sYnkoUsE, NEW vonk;V

l `liv;,nuovi-:lvlENT IN s HlNQLE-MACHINES;

l specification forming prr. of Letters Patent Nd. 105, 54o, dated Jiny 19, 1810.

y. Be it known `una 1I, JAMES E. AnsT1N,'0f

-Oswego, in the county of Oswego and Stateof New York, have invented a new and useful y Improvement in Shingle-Machines; and I do hereby declare that the followingis afull, clear, and exact description thereof, whiclrwill enable those skilled inthe art tomake and use ,t the same, referencebeing had to the accompa- 'nying drawing, forming a part of thisl specification.`

Figure 1V is a front view of my improved `shingle-machine, thel frame-work of which is shownL in section, and Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, and6 are detail views.

Similarletters of reference indicate like parts in the several gure's.

' f This invention relates to a machine for cutting shingles 5` and consists, essentially, in a l strained knife and mechanism by which it is operated, as hereinafter more fully described.

f "I employa wide and thin cutting-knife, B, Fig. 1said knife being about a foot or fournteen inches in width, and its thickness at the thickest place being only about three-eighths of "an inch, This knife is placed in and carried xbya'stout straining-beam, C c c, and by getting a powerful endwise strain on the knife, its thickness can bemuch less than the cutting-knives in use heretofore, and the strain on the shingle, as it is cut from the block, is

The straining of the knife vcan be l accomplished by set-screws c2 c2, the piece cl sliding in the beam C, or the piece c can be attached rigidly to the beam C, and the knife strained `by keys or wedges driven through the ends of c1 c, and the end or ends of the knife B. The

knife B hasa piece of metal bolted lacross each of @its ends, and these pieces b form dovetail `heads thatfit into `corresponding grooves in `the sides of c c1, asshown by top view of the knifeBbinFig.2.

D is the cutting-tatie, on which the block orshingle-boltisplaced. Thistableismounted on a beam, d d, whichworks verticallyin guide- Vslots a a in the frame-work A A, and at each upward movementof the table D the shinglebolt is carried to the knife B, and ashingle cut from saidbolt or block. The vertical move.-`

ment ofthe cuttingtable D is obtained by a F, and pitmen ff. l A As the table D is thrown up for a cutting movement, the knife B, with its strainingbeam, makes a sliding movement in the direction of the arrow B, theparts c el of the beam C sliding endwise in guide-slots in the framework `A A 5 `and by this endwise motionfof the `knife B a drawing cut is obtained that separates the bers of the wood with less strain to the shingle, and the knife slices through the wood more easily, and makes smoother work. `This endwise or, sliding movement of theknife and straining-beam B C is obtained by a toothed rack, c3, onone end of the beam (l, and by a segmental pinion or gear wheel, Gr, the said pinion being operated by a lever, g, and rod h, the said rod h connecting with the table-beam d d, so that the pinion G moves the knife endwise as the table E is elevated to make a cut. I, Fig. l, is one of the stay-rods or cross-bars machine.

When the machine is cutting, the attendant or operator feeds the block up to the knife by hand, and in doing so has merely t0 press the block against the set devices. or vgages t' t', Figs. 1, 3, and 4, which are swinging frames pivoted, at 7c, to a heavy cross-bar, a2, of the frame-work.

The gage t" is pushed out by the endwise movement of a cone, L, so as-to make the thin end of the" shingle, and at the next stroke of the table the cone L is withdrawn, so that the and so the gages t t" alternate in their action, the gage 'i being operated inthe 'same manner as the first bya second cone or round wedge, l.

The conical wedges L l are actuated by alever, M, and pawl m, Fig. 5, which act on the ratchet-head N of a shaft, N n, and, as this shaft is rotated intermittently, the cones L l are also rotated,and cams Z2 l2, Fig. 6, on the tionary projections or pins o o, Figs. 3 and 4, to give the said cones the proper endwisemovement," by which the gages t' i are set, to make the butts of the shingles alternate. The cones L Z are each connected with the shaft N n by drivingshaft and pulley, e E, crank-wheelsF that form a part of the frame-work AA of the thick end of the shingle is made at that gage,

base of each cone, come in contact with staa feather, so that they are compelled to rotate with the shaft, but are left free to slide longitudinally thereon.

A spiral spring, r, Figs. 1,3, and 4, is placed on the shaft between -the cones L l, and this spring acts on both cones, to give them their backward or withdrawing movements as their cams recede from the said pins o o. The lever M is connected to the table-beam d d in such manner as tobe operated by the vertical movement of said beam.

This machine has been tried, and works Well. The shingles are cut outwithoutbeing checked Y by overstraining the Wood, and good sound shingles are produced, which, being more smooth than the sawed shingles, do not retain dampness as long, and are,consequently, more durable than the sawed shingle of equal soundness.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent isl. The combination of a thin cutting-blade, strengthened and held taut, as described, a table for supporting ablockof timber, andmechanism to impart to said blade a reciprocating or shearing movement in reference to the table, or a reciprocating movement of the table in reference to the knife.

2. The combination of the straining-beam C, knife B b, parts c c1, and screws c2, all constructed, arranged, and operating substantially as described.

3. The set Works or gages LZ M', constructed and operating substantially as described.

4. The knife B, provided with the dove'tail heads b b for attaching the said knife to the beam C c c1, as and for the purpose specified.

5. The arrangement of the sliding knife B, the straining-beam C, the movable table D, the set-Works L l i', and operating devices c3 G F f e, and frame A A, all constructed and operated as and for the purpose herein 'speciiied. v

The above specification of my invention signed by me this 13th day of April, 1870.

JAS. E. AUSTIN.

Witnesses:

D. B. SPOONER, F. A. MORLEY. 

